Report Cards

Hi Fourth Grade Families,

Report cards went home yesterday! It is a new format, so I hope it was easy to navigate. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thankful...

Hi Fourth Grade Families,

I hope you are all looking forward to this holiday break and that you have some fun things planned! I am thankful for each of your children and the opportunity to teach them each day. They have rocked it the past couple weeks and I couldn't be prouder. I was especially impressed when talking with them about their Genius Hour projects last week! Usually kids struggle with finding a project they are truly passionate about for the first project because they've never had the chance to be in charge of their own learning before. However, I was in awe of what your kids came up with and I'm so excited to see them reach for the stars! I will keep you posted as we get close to presentation time, so that you can join us if you'd like!

What are you thankful for? Comment below!

Thank you for your continued support as we move throughout the school year and as always, thank you for your kids! Have a great break and we'll see you back here next week!

Ashley

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is a jam-packed day! We start off with our field trip to Clark County Public Utility District in the morning and end with the Veteran's Day Assembly in the afternoon! Please send your child to school with a cold lunch if you indicated that you would on your permission slip form. If you opted for a school lunch, the ladies down in the cafeteria are lovingly packing a sack lunch for your child and they will pick those up in the morning! 

We leave school at approximately 9:30 a.m. for our field trip. Please have your child to school on time so that they don't miss out! We will return around 12:15 p.m. 

The Veteran's Day Assembly starts at 1:30 p.m. Please join us if you are able! 

Tomorrow night is also Salmon Creek's Burgerville Night starting at 5:00 p.m. Part of every dollar spent will be donated to our school, so grab an easy dinner and support your school at the same time! The class with the highest percentage of student's to show up gets a milkshake party, so make sure to tell them you're from Mrs. Beck's class!

Happy Election Day!

Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools Fundraising Campaign!

Next week, we will be fundraising for the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools. The Foundation does some amazing things for kids in our district to ensure that every child comes to school happy, healthy and ready to learn! For 28 years, the Foundation has sponsored lunch buddies, collected school supplies for kids whose families cannot afford them, provided glasses for students who needed them and much, much more! They even supply each principal with a 'Principal's Checkbook' so that administrators can purchase things for kids that have immediate needs in their schools. 

I am attaching the campaign video below. Each student will be bringing home an envelope for the fundraiser. If you want to contribute, simply enclose your contribution in the envelope and send it back to school with your child! Here at Salmon Creek we are creating an Apple Cup style competition for the fundraiser. Your child will get to choose which team (UW v. WSU) they would like your family's contribution to count toward and at the end of next week we will see who wins the fundraising Apple Cup!

Thank you!

Thanksgiving Feast!

FYI from the Salmon Creek Kitchen:

The Cafeteria will be serving their Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday Nov. 17th. You may invite families to join us for lunch. We do appreciate reservations, and prepayment (cash or checks made to Salmon Creek Elementary). The cost for adult lunches are $2.90 and youth lunches are $1.95. Please know that Juice will not be sold during the Cafeteria Thanksgiving Feast. It will be available for our handful of non-milk drinking students.

Thank you!

Genius Hour!

So, many of you have probably noticed that I have a #geniushour bar on the left side of my blog. Well, today your students were introduced to the concept of Genius Hour! They were given the basic idea of what it is, how it works and what will be expected of them. Please talk with your child this weekend about it and see if they can explain the process to you! Also, because they took the Topic 4 math assessment today, students have no formal homework this weekend! I told them that their job is to discuss things that they are passionate about with you this weekend and talk about some possible ideas for presentations! They should not, however, begin the process because next week we have some more prep work to do. 

Next week, students will take a survey on some of their interests and they will start to zero in on their final idea that they want to pursue for Genius Hour for the next couple of months! Please help them in this process, as for many of them it is the first time they've been in charge of their own learning! One great way to support their learning is by sharing your own interests and passions with them and the ways in which you pursue those passions! Please comment below if you'd like to share with the rest of us as well!

I can't wait to see what your kids can accomplish. We're going to have so much fun!

Thank you!

What a week!

With conferences over and Halloween on it's way, this week was rough in some ways! In class, student behavior started to slide and work ethic was on the decline too. I did some thinking last night about motivation, and asked your children to do the same, and this morning I greeted them with a new activity so that we could all get back on track this morning! 

The good news is that today has been great so far! Have your child share with you what their commitment to excellence was today! 

I hope each of your families has a fantastic weekend!

Crazy Hair Day!

Hi families,

Friday is our first spirit day of the year at Salmon Creek Elementary! Students are welcome to wear crazy hairstyles to show their school spirit! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Field Trip!

Hi Fourth Grade Families,

We have our field trip to Clark Public Utility District, coming up on November 9! I sent home permission slips last week, as well as a form asking you whether or not your child needs a sack lunch provided by the school that day. We leave school at 9:15 and return sometime around 12:15 p.m. I sent home another copy today because some students were saying they didn't receive theirs last week! Please sign them and return as soon as possible! I'm also looking for parents that would like to join us as chaperones that day. If you're cleared to volunteer in our school district and would like to go, please let me know ASAP!

Thanks so much,

Ashley Beck

Thank you!

Thank you so much to all of you for meeting with me to talk about your sweet kids this week! Conferences are a lot of work to prepare for, but they are one of my favorite times of the year for two reasons: 1) I get to connect with families, sometimes for the first time; and 2) your kids get to show you the awesome work they are doing in our classroom. I love watching the pride they take in the process! I hope each of you enjoyed the student-led format as well! Your kids did such a great job explaining their progress over the course of the year. I know some of them were nervous beforehand, but I was really impressed! 

I hope you were all able to enjoy your extended weekend! Please remember that Monday is a 1-hour early release as well.

What was your favorite part of your conference? Comment below!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

:) Ashley 

No School Tomorrow!

Hi fourth grade families,

Tomorrow, October 14, there is no school for a teacher in-service day! Next week is conference week as well. Wednesday, October 19, is a 2-hour early release and there is no school on Thursday and Friday. I sent out the final list of conference times last week! Please let me know if you need another reminder!

Thanks!

Another great week...

We've had a great start to the fourth grade, and this week was no exception! Students have been working hard to set goals and achieve them and I'm proud of what they are accomplishing!

In math this week, we took our Topic 2 assessment on Monday. 87% of the class passed at 80% or higher and there were a couple more people who were really close! Students took a look at their scores and refined their action plan to see even greater success in Topic 3. Next week they will take that assessment and I will keep you posted about their progress!

In reading this week, we wrapped up Unit 1 Week 2 and began Unit 1 Week 3. An information page was sent home on Wednesday that outlines all of the things that will be covered this week. For example, our comprehension skill that we're working on this week is comparing and contrasting. Students will do this in a variety of ways: comparing and contrasting texts, characters an events in a story. The genre we are working with this week is Expository (Informational) Text. Our essential question for the week is: How do people respond in a natural disaster? The students find this topic very interesting! Next week, we will be able to compare what we are learning to the real world and talk more in depth about what is currently happening on the east coast with Hurricane Matthew. 

This week in science has been fun! Students have had the opportunity to experiment with using a battery, a wire and a light bulb to see if they could figure out a way to get the bulb to light up! A few of the teams were able to create a circuit for this to happen and they were very excited! Ask your child to explain the difference between a conductor and an insulator! Our field trip to Clark Public Utilities, where we will take everything we've learned about electricity and put it into action, is coming up on November 9! I will be asking for volunteers for chaperoning in a couple of weeks!

As a reminder, next Friday there is no school and the week after that is conferences! I will send out the conference times on Class Dojo messaging in case you needed a reminder of your time.

Also, please make sure to check your child's planner each day! They should be having a conversation with you about their day that is guided by the stuff we right in the planner each afternoon. Each day they will also be writing down their homework for the day. In Topic 2, we only have 63% of students turning in all of their homework and we've set a goal to have 75% of it turned in for Topic 3. Please support this as much as you can! Daily reading and math facts should also be occurring!

Thank you for your continued support!

Have a great weekend!

Ashley Beck

Picture Day and Husky Run!

Tomorrow, October 5th is picture day at Salmon Creek Elementary! Please remember to send picture forms and money with your children tomorrow!

On Thursday, students will participate in the Husky Run! Please send them to school dressed for running (possibly in the rain!). We're going to have a great time running to raise money for the awesome programs put on for our school by the PTA! Please support us if you can!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Conferences are coming up in a couple weeks - October 17-20! 

Thank you to those of you who have already signed up for your conference times (either at Curriculum Night/Open House or via the available times newsletter I sent home last Friday)! Today, I am sending home another notice to those of you that I don't have a time set for yet. Also, please let me know if you need to have two separate times set for your child due to the logistics of your family. I will get in contact with you about setting up that time.

In Room 210, we do student-led conferences, so please plan to bring your child to their conference if at all possible! 

I will send home a reminder of your time next week so that you have it!

Thank you!

Topic 2 Family Letter...

This came home with your child yesterday! Each time we start a new topic, one of these will come home. They are meant to inform you about what we are going to be working on in math and they often give great ideas for activities you can do at home to reinforce your child's learning!

No Math Homework Tonight!

Today, students took their first topic test in math and they rocked it! Our class goal was that 80% of the students would pass the test with a score of 80% or higher. Well... they exceeded their own expectations - 27 out of 30 students (90%) passed and the class average score was 88%. They did an awesome job setting goals and working hard to meet them. Students will find out their individual scores tomorrow morning, so be sure to ask them how they did!

Please still have your child complete their 20+ minutes of reading and 10+ minutes of multiplication fact practice, but enjoy the night off from the math reinforcement sheet!

The Opportunity to Fail...

Fourth grade families,

Today in class, we had a great discussion about failure and the importance of having a growth mindset. Too often, we do what is comfortable for us to avoid failure. What we don't realize is that avoiding failure is keeping us from growing. So, as a class, we took some time today to be open and honest about times when we tried something new and totally crashed and burned! The students thought it was funny at first because celebrating failure isn't something any of us are terribly comfortable with. By the end of the discussion, however, they were starting to see the value of challenging themselves to be uncomfortable so they could find the sweet spot where they could grow to their fullest potential! 

We also talked about the difference between saying, "I can't do this" and saying "I can't do this YET." Most people aren't amazing at things the first time they try them, or the first time they learn them. It is the work you put in that determines your path. I am going to work hard to change the way students talk to themselves this year. No more telling themselves they can't do something... they just can't do it yet!

As a result of this discussion, I challenged them at lunch to do something totally outside of their comfort zone. Maybe it was trying a game they'd never played before or reaching out to someone they had never played with. After recess, they shared a little about what they tried and what they learned from it. It was awesome and they found it so powerful! 

As we progress through the fourth grade, I also have a job for you! Please allow your children opportunities to be uncomfortable, to challenge their thinking and to fail. I promise the rewards are worth the moment of discomfort! 

How about you? Anyone out there want to comment below and share a moment that was uncomfortable for them? A time when you totally failed and what you learned as a result? How did it help you grow?

Moving right along...

Hi fourth grade families,

Last week marked our first full 5-day week in Room 210! We were all tired by the end of it, but we accomplished so much!

In math, your kids continued to work hard understanding multiplication and division rules and how the two operations are interconnected. Today we wrapped up Topic 1 and will spend tomorrow reviewing all of the concepts we've been working on. On Wednesday, students will take their first math test in the fourth grade! As a class, we set a S.M.A.R.T. goal to have 80% of our class pass the test at 80% or higher. I will keep you posted on how we do! (On a side note, ask your student to explain what a S.M.A.R.T. goal is!)

In reading, we started our first "week" of study in Reading Wonders last week too. This curriculum has so much great stuff that our "weeks" tend to take between 7 and 8 days, so you will notice in the planner that we don't always start a new week on Monday. Our genre this week is Fairy Tales and students have spent time reading a story called, "The Princess and the Pizza," which was fun! They're using their skill with sequencing story events to better understand the text, as well as using the text evidence to predict what happens next in the story! We will finish up this "week" in the next couple days and students will also take their first weekly reading assessment. 

Last week, we also finished up the i-Ready assessments for both reading and math. Your kids worked really hard to do their best and I'm proud of them. I will be compiling data from those assessments to share with you at conferences next month. 

Thank you to those of you who were able to attend Curriculum Night/Open House last Thursday! We had a pretty good turn out! I hope you enjoyed the new format and that you loved watching your kids shine! I was impressed with their ability to explain the features of our classroom! Look for your student to continue taking on these leadership opportunities as we progress through the year!

This week we are beginning our first science unit which focuses on Electricity! It is a pretty fun one and the students are always really excited to do the experiments in this unit. We will spend a couple weeks working on this topic and then will go on a field trip to Clark Public Utilities in November to put our knowledge into action!

Please continue to take some time each night going over the planner with your child. They know that it is an expectation that they are sharing their day with you. Also, please make sure students are completing their homework nightly, as well as reading 20+ minutes and practicing multiplication facts for 10+ minutes. Those foundational skills will set the stage for the more difficult concepts we will get to later in the year!

Thanks so much for your continued support!

Mrs. Beck

ashley.beck@vansd.org

Open House

Open house is tonight from 6 - 7:30 pm! Please bring your student, as they have been working hard to prepare to lead you on a tour through our room! It is set up so that you can drop in on your schedule and stay as long as you can/need. Each student has an agenda that they will use to guide you on your tour! See you soon!

This year we will be doing something Mrs. Beck learned about over the summer - Genius Hour. Watch the video to find out more! We would love any supplies you can spare so that kids can take their passions to the next level!

Our class motto...

This is how we live in Room 210!